June 03 , 2021
Electronic phytosanitary certification is still at the beginning stages amid a growing need for swift progress towards a more efficient system, according to representatives of The Southern Hemisphere Association of Fresh Fruit Exporters (SHAFFE).
SHAFFE, together with Freshfel Europe and the Global Alliance for Trade Facilitation, has held two webinars on the state of play of electronic phytosanitary certificates.
At the center of the meetings was the evolution of the International Plant Protection Convention (IPPC) ePhyto Hub, a global transmission system for phytosanitary certificates to which nearly 50 countries have been connected already.
The webinar addressed key challenges such as different safety requirements, competition of the ePhyto hub with bilateral channels and different speeds of onboarding – while the fruit sector underlined the urgency to go completely go paperless.